An Idea Borrowed

Years ago on a radio program someone shared that they read a chapter in Proverbs every day. Since there are 31 chapters and the longest month has 31 days it allows you to read through Proverbs on a regular basis. I use it as the launch pad for my personal worship time and branch out from there. On this blog I will try to share some of the insights I have in the Word. I will try to organize them in the archive by reference.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Hell No? or Hell Yes!

(Proverbs 27:20 KJV)  Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

Different translations use different words to get across the ideas here.  The NASB uses the Hebrew terms of “Sheol” (7585) and “Abaddon” (11).  The KJV uses “hell” and “destruction.”  Other translations have “underworld” and “death” for the first and “grave” for the second.  This verse seems to personify these two places.  Proverbs does the same to wisdom.

Two points occur to me.  First, these are real places and real concerns.  Don’t fall into the trap of believing that heaven is real and hell is not.  That simplifies things too much.  Eternal existence is real.  It is described in terms of eternal life and eternal death.  One is in the presence of God, one is separate from God. 

Second, eternal death, by whatever name will never be “satisfied” (7646) and that means you will never be satisfied.  You will be in an eternal condition of wanting something you can’t have.

So?  Make sure you are on the right team.  Check your logo.  It needs to be a cross not a career.  Just a friendly reminder from a person who doesn’t know you.  You know.  God knows. 

2 comments:

Gorges Smythe said...

Being the oddball that I am, I became a believer in heaven because I first became a believer in the likelihood of hell. Of course those places would then need someone to run them, and so on and et cetera, until I finally started paying real attention to the scriptures that I'd been raised with.

Pumice said...

My wife was saved from the emphasis on the end times in Hal Lindsey's books. We are not big end times people but the warning served its purpose. The Holy Spirit reaches us each in different ways.

Grace and peace.